Author's Note: Just a sweet, fluffy little piece that made me happy after having to write a VoldemortWins!AU as for my prompt I took hard way as meaning the same as long way. I apologise if this doesn't completely cover the prompt. :)
Hogwarts Assignment
Fairytales: Write about how much it took your chosen pairing to finally get together! It should be obvious that it was a hard way. (James/Lily) Extra Prompt: (object) ring
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise!
The Long Way Round
The loud buzz of several different conversations died down to silence as a fork was clinked gently against a glass. All eyes swivelled to the top table, watching expectantly as a chair scraped backwards and a smartly dressed young man stood up, shaking his long dark hair out of his eyes.
He raised his glass of sparkling champagne and flashed a charming smile at the assembled guests. "To the bride and groom!"
His declaration was met with cheers of approval as the aforementioned newlyweds blushed with happiness. Everyone sipped at their drinks and quieted down waiting for more of a speech.
"What?" he questioned, "that wasn't sufficient?" The crowd laughed as the best man stood a little straighter. "No I suppose not, not for these two anyway. Anyone who knows them, which all of you here should really, knows that Lily and James never did anything easy. It took almost seven years of pestering to get Lily to finally go out with James, and then five gruelling years before she agreed to marry him. Even I was ready to throw them under the bus! And I being the picture of patience and grace, of course."
On the other side of Lily, Remus snorted.
"There are many amusing tales I can tell you from their meeting to today but I don't think we would all sit still for that long so I am just going to give you my personal favourites." Sirius slid a sly grin towards James, who was watching his best friend with something akin to fear.
"Once upon a time, there was a young boy named James who came across a fair damsel and became all starry-eyed…"
X
"Yeah, so, what house do you think you're going to get sorted into?"
The train jolted along the tracks and a young James Potter had to keep pushing his glasses back up his nose. On the seat beside him slumped a fairy moody looking boy with dark hair and across the way a slightly more talkative mousy coloured boy, who had asked him the question.
"Well, I don't know if it matters really, well as long as it's not Slytherin. My dad was a Gryffindor, and my mam was a Ravenclaw, but both her sisters were Hufflepuffs. I can go pretty much anywhere," he said, "but I would prefer Gryffindor."
The other boy nodded sagely, the one in the corner peering up curiously. "I think I would like Gryffindor too, but I think probably Ravenclaw. Not that I'm being big headed!" he hurried to add, flushing darkly, "it's just, well, I like books a lot."
James smiled encouragingly at his new friend, Remus, but couldn't help glancing sideways at the boy who had only grunted his name when asked, Sirius. When he saw that James was looking he quickly turned his head back towards the window. Definitely a Slytherin, James decided.
Before he could say anymore, the door to their compartment slid open and all three first years looked up in hope that the candy trolley had finally reached them. Instead, framed by the doorway, was a short girl, smartly dressed in her Hogwarts robes, with long red hair and sharp green eyes.
"I'm looking for Marlene Mckinnon, do any of you know her?"
Both Sirius and Remus answered no, but James simply stared at her. She was beautiful, truly beautiful and he felt his heart race and his mouth go dry looking at her. Both boys and this new girl were staring at him, as he stared at her, but James didn't even notice. He was entranced.
After patiently waiting for an answer, and suffering his stares, for long enough the girl huffed an exasperated sigh and muttered something about boys. She turned on heel and slammed the sliding door as she left.
X
The assembled guests laughed gently as the groom flushed scarlet. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" he grumbled quietly not looking up from the white table cloth in front of him.
"Never, mate," Sirius laughed. "I'm going to bring it up at every wedding anniversary, and maybe even the christening too!"
"Not yet you aren't," Lily put in, laughing a long herself.
"As you can see Ladies and Gentleman, James was charming and dapper from the very beginning, therefore, it can only come as a surprise that it took him a whole seven years to get any sort of reciprocation for his feelings!"
X
"Sirius!"
The young man in question shot up out of his bed, grasping his wand, ready to take on whatever danger was attacking.
"You'll never believe it man!"
Sirius looked around, but could see nothing wrong. James Potter, a taller, broader but still somewhat goofy seventeen-year-old stood in the doorway. His hair was ruffled and his glasses were askew and he looked like he was about to pass out from excitement.
"James, what's wrong?"
"SHE KISSED ME!" James launched himself across the room and onto the foot of Sirius's bed, bouncing like an excitable four-year-old on Christmas morning.
"Who did?" Sirius frowned at his best friend. There were always girls flocking at James but he rarely ever indulged them. He was more of a one-woman sort of guy.
"LILY!"
Sirius blinked once at his friend, still far too sleepy to register what he had said but as soon as it had sunk in he opened his mouth, and screamed.
The two seventeen-year-old, fully fledged, mature wizards jumped off the bed and proceeded to scream excitedly like little schoolgirls, jumping around in circles.
"IF YOU TWO IDIOTS DON'T SHUT UP, I SWEAR ON MERLIN IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!"
X
"As you can probably guess, Ladies and Gentlemen, it certainly did happen again, but that doesn't mean that we shut up."
The guests laughed.
"You realise, Sirius, that that story paints you as ridiculously as it does James?" Lily asked, looking up the best man, a smile gracing her beautiful face.
"I embrace my inner white girl, thank you very much," he sassed, flicking at his hair. "Well, honoured guests. I have picked my anecdotes for this, the most important of speeches, to highlight to everyone what capable hands dear Lily has found herself. And I left my absolute favourite for last, we all should know, James is fantastic in a crisis…"
X
"James, mate, you need to calm down." Sirius grasped his shoulders and shook him slightly.
"But, there are so many choices!" James moaned, squirming in the firm grasp and gazing frantically around at the glass cases, filled to the brim with diamonds and other precious gems. "I don't know what she wants!"
A half alarmed, half amused, muggle shop girl stood behind the counter, her eyes wide as she took in the scene.
"I can't do this Sirius, I'm not ready, she's not ready. This is a terrible idea. We're going to end up hating each other with twelve children and no money and we'll be forced onto the streets to starve and before long she'll go to her parents and I'll lose all rights and then I'll have to move back in with my parents and they'll get sick of me and then, oh Merlin, then I'll have to move in with you-"
James cut off sharply as a slap resounded through the shop. The shop girl gasped, clapping her hands to her mouth in a desperate attempt not to burst into laughter.
"Get it together man! It's just a ring! As long as you're the one giving it to her that's all she'll care about! Also, not a marquis cut, she told Marlene she hates them."
James took a few deep breaths, carefully in and out, and nodded. "You're right," he whispered, rubbing his cheek gently, "it's me she wants. And I want her. I can do this."
"Yes, come on, you can do this."
X
"And he fainted!"
"Hey! I did not!" James protested loudly, but his voice was lost in the roar of laughter.
"Honestly, I had to endure a muggle hospital trip because that poor girl was so worried! But, that brings us right back to where we are now and so I'll finally stop chattering on and instead ask you all to stand and raise a glass."
Chairs scraped as the guests rose as one, their glasses in the air.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, to Mr and Mrs James Potter!"
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Much Love, MaryandMerlin x